Hey friends!

Here’s a light-hearted post where I bear my soul a little! Enjoy!

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So, never in my adult life have I wanted to be a dog—or a pug, specifically.

But now that I have become a fan of “Doug the Pug” all that has changed. Doug the Pug is the Cutest. Dog. Ever.

And.

Who knew that all you had to do was post pics of a cutie pie pug with a dash of wit and sarcasm on the side to get THOUSANDS of likes. That right, you heard me—thousands.

Doug the Pug puts my “progress” under the table. One picture or video of cute little Doug and the comments come pouring in. Over here at my little blogsite “Faith Like Dirty Diapers,” I get a handful of views. 20-30 on average with highs not even reaching 100.

The Underdog

So, yes—I just compared myself to a dog. That’s pretty sad. I wanna be like…”Doug.”

Okay, not really.

But man, do I ever wish that the message I am sharing would get the attention “Doug the Pug” gets. As soon as those words escaped my brain, I had to look a little closer and say, “Christy, what part of the ‘ME’ssage do you really want to come through?”

Ahhhh. There it is again.

ME.

When “ME” takes over the message, all you’re left with is a “sage.”

Here is what that word means in black and white:

sage¹

noun

Someone venerated for the possession of wisdom, judgment, and experience.

No, no, NO.

That is NOT what I want to want.

I want to share Jesus with people. He has given me a story to tell. But so far, I am back to being stuck comparing myself to others around me-even a dog, “Doug the Pug.” I’m asking God why His created things seem to get all the props while my gospel-centered writing is shuffled to the back of the bus? (Really? As if my writing isn’t a created thing? Or ME?)

Focus Daniel-Son

My daughter made a video of her stuffed animals going to the dentist. (And no, she didn’t use her pug, but she totally should have) She wanted share the video with someone after it was done. It’s natural and normal to want to share the things you work hard to make.

So, she invited me to watch it.

There’s no harm in writing something and then inviting people to read it. The foul comes when we start over-analyzing why there aren’t more people reading it or when we compare ourselves to those with a larger audience.

I have tread water here before, but God was gracious to pull me out.

This time around, I didn’t warm a seat at the table of comparison weighing myself versus a cutie-pie pug for too long.

But…

I was inspired to share my struggle because we often think we have our struggles squared away. And while we may have taken strides toward holiness in an area, it doesn’t mean that we have eradicated all possibility to revisit a sinful tendency.

Many times we have to fix our focus. Temptations come back into view over and over again. The hope is that the next time sin “lets the dogs out” on us, we will be ready.

That said, maybe I should take more pictures of my dog. His name isn’t Doug, but he is a pug. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I exploit him a little in the name of Jesus…

Right?

Oh and before I forget–you gotta see this Doug the Pug. Here he is as Yoda. Adorbs!!